Sprinkles
by macisgate
Summary: Why does McGee always pick the sprinkles off his donut? "You're the only guy I've ever dated who never saw all of this," she waved her hands over her black pigtails and studded dog collar. "You just see me. And... I hope you know that I see you too." My first NCIS story!


Sprinkles

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

A/N: Hey Everyone! This is my very first NCIS story. I live in the sticks and recently went from only getting one TV channel to four, which is the reason I have only discovered this amazing show recently. I've watched quite a few episodes and YouTube clips, but I'll probably still mess up a few things, so I apologize in advance!

In one episode, Tony gets mad at Tim because every morning he gets a sprinkle donut and picks off all the sprinkles before eating it. In another episode, Abby is shown holding up a donut and saying, "But I haven't gotten my morning sprinkles yet," or something like that. And so this fic was inspired into existence...

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Christine

000

The elevator ding gave him away. Abby waited for him to speak, not really expecting him to. She took the time to blink away her watering eyes and clear her throat before she broke the silence.

"Hey Gibbs." She didn't bother looking up from her computer, and she was too sad to face him. He seemed to know this.

He sauntered over to stand beside her and slid a small pastry box in front of her. She managed a small smile. "What's this?" she asked.

"Just open it." He pulled up a chair and sat down.

Abby lifted the lid and finally looked at Gibbs, raising an eyebrow. "A donut? Jethro, you shouldn't have," she drawled.

He didn't return her smile; he just leaned in closer. "Don't do that, Abbs."

"Do what?" she feigned innocence.

"Pretend you're fine when you're not."

Abby shrugged and fiddled with the sprinkled donut in front of her. "What makes you think I'm not fine?"

Gibbs tilted his head a little. "You haven't had a sprinkle donut the past two days. You gotta eat something, Abbs. Even when you're sad."

She shook her head. "I'm not-" she started, but the two tears that fell made her denial pointless.

Gibbs reached up to squeeze her shoulder. "Who broke up with who?"

Abby sighed and gave up resisting. "I don't know. We both did I guess. I just... I could feel Tim pulling away, and I made it easy for him."

Gibbs started to stand up, but Abby pulled him back down. "Don't do anything, Gibbs. Or say anything to him. It's not his fault. I'm just... a lot for most guys to take. I get that. I just... thought he was different. He's the first _normal_ guy I've ever dated. I really, really liked him. Maybe he just didn't realize how much."

"This is McGee's first year as an NCIS agent. That's a lot of stress. Are you sure you didn't misread him?"

Abby shrugged and bit into her donut. "He didn't fight back. I mean, if he really liked me, he wouldn't have let me push him away, would he?"

Gibbs didn't have an answer, so he pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair instead.

000

"Yo, McSadFace. Turn that frown upside down," Tony grinned and plopped down in his desk chair. He waited for McGee to look up from his computer screen and offer a snappy comeback. His smile slowly faded to one of slight concern when the silence stretched too long. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Leave it alone, Tony," Tim warned him.

Tony got up to see what McGee was working on. "Why are you mutilating that donut?"

"I don't like sprinkles."

Tony widened both eyes. "Then why did you buy a sprinkle donut?"

"It wasn't for me." Tim continued to methodically pick off the multi-coloured bits.

"Then who did you buy it for?" Realization dawned across his face. "Doesn't Abby eat those?"

Tim sighed. "She says eating one of these is like eating happiness."

"So... you're taking the _happy_ out of the donut?"

"Seems fitting," he mumbled.

"Mistress of the Dark broke your heart, didn't she?"

Tim just shrugged and didn't bother answering. Tony seemed to realize this was one of those times to leave well enough alone. He left to join Kate in the break room.

Tim went back to his donut ministrations until a shadow fell over his desk. He swallowed hard.

"I'm not going to yell at you, McGee," Gibbs said in his soft, dangerous way.

Tim swallowed again.

"I'm not going to hurt you either," Gibbs clarified. "Just listen."

Like he had a choice.

Gibbs continued. "I don't know much about you or your past. What I do know is you seem to have trouble letting yourself relax. You pull away when things go well. It's okay to be happy, McGee."

_It's okay to be happy_. Tim wondered which of the rules that was.

The phone rang and Gibbs went back to his own desk to answer it. Tim released the breath he'd been holding.

Over the next few days, Tim thought about what Gibbs had said. He kept buying Abby's donut but not delivering it. Until enough time had passed that she moved on with someone else. But he still bought the donut anyway.

000

Time passed quickly, weeks to months and months to years, and life left them both a little wiser and world weary. Old enough to realize that good things come, not to those that wait, but to those that don't let go when times get tough.

Abby was walking through her lab, shutting down her "babies". She placed her stuffed hippo in his place and went to grab her jacket by the door. She startled when she saw McGee standing against the wall like he'd been there a while.

"McGee," she smiled. "What are you doing here? I already sent my results to Gibbs."

He looked serious. Her smile slipped a little. "You okay?"

He held open her jacket, and she turned around to let him help her put it on. His hands didn't move away from her shoulders. She closed her eyes and sighed, fighting the urge to lean back against him. "Tim..."

"I made a mistake back then." He didn't need to clarify when. She knew.

"And you've come to make things right?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Yes," he stated simply.

"Just that easy?" Abby studied him for a long moment. "I'm not going to change, McGee. I'm still me. You need to be okay with that."

"Abby, I never... I've always loved you just the way you are."

"Then why did we break up back then?" she had to know the answer. How could they keep from rewriting history if they didn't know the whole story?

McGee tried to find the right words. "I don't get what you see in me," he finally offered.

Abby offered him a confused look and replied without hesitation. "You're the best hacker I know, aside from me. You write these amazing novels. You're funny and sweet and smart and... You really _see_ me. You're the only guy I've ever dated who never saw all of _this_," she waved her hands over her black pigtails and studded dog collar. "You just see me. And... I hope you know that I see you too."

"I wasn't ready back then, Abby. To be happy. A lot of stuff was going on with my Dad. My job was... overwhelming. You made me so happy when I was with you, but when I wasn't... I guess I had to learn how to be happy by myself. I'm just sorry it took so long."

Abby pulled him into a hug, laying her head against him. "I had a few things to learn myself," she assured him.

He held her close for a long time before they headed for the elevator together, hand in hand.

The next morning, Abby went to turn on her computer and found a sprinkle donut sitting on her keyboard.

Upstairs, Tony studied Tim, trying to determine what was different about his friend. Finally he snapped his fingers. "No donut mutilation!" he announced loudly drawing stares from his fellow agents. He waited until they'd gone back to work before wheeling his chair over to Tim's desk.

"Good job, McGee," he said in a softer voice. "I'm happy for you."

McGee smiled. "Me too."

000

The End

000


End file.
